For decades, people would buy/rent houses after taking a physical tour or personally meeting a real estate agent. Did you ever imagine that this process will also become digital? To be honest, no one expected real estate websites like Zillow to ever come into the market.
But it is a reality now and that too a convenient one. A substantial number of people are becoming familiar with the concept of real estate apps/websites.
As a real estate broker or a builder, you may have also felt the need for such a digital platform. If yes, then find a mobile app development company to build a real estate app like Zillow.
Before you get into the development process, it is necessary to know the basics of apps like Zillow. So, let us start with that first.
About Zillow
Zillow is undoubtedly one of the top real estate sites. But this is just a brief description. It is actually a social network and the audience comprises of all parties related to the real estate industry.
A user can do the following on Zillow:
- They can put their property on the market
- They can find a house of their choice and get additional information about it. For instance, the pictures, area, number of bedrooms, etc.
- They can rent an apartment or find a tenant for their property
- Users can inquire about different house loans. Zillow also comes with an online calculator to estimate the cost of the mortgage, and refinance, etc.
- Users get the option to choose from multiple real estates experts like builders, agents, or home inspectors. On the other hand, an expert can also enlist his/her own services.
All of this does sound impressive, right? Now, you may be more convinced to create a real estate app for your business. Before we get into the development tips, it is necessary to know the benefits too.
Benefits of Housing Sites like Zillow:
The following are the advantages for each party involved in the real estate market:
☛ Sellers
- Loyal Target Audience – A seller gets an amazing opportunity with real estate apps like Zillow to target their customers. They can understand their client’s preferences and present an offer accordingly.
- Easy Customer Search Option – A seller will not be confused about finding buyers anymore.
- Advertising Made Easy – Real estate apps like Zillow are a great platform to advertise. A seller can promote easily.
- Efficient Targeting – Home sites like Zillow will allow a seller to use the targeting system at their convenience. They can target a customer at the right time to make an offer that the customer can’t refuse.
- Easy Interaction between Seller & Buyer – All thanks to the features of a website like Zillow, both parties can easily find information and get help on any issue.
☛ Buyers
- Quick Search System – A complicated searching system is a big turn-off. So, when you build a real estate app like Zillow, make sure that the search system is optimized and shows appropriate results.
- Geolocation – Geolocation data will help buyers look for properties that match the best with their needs.
- User-friendly – This is one aspect you cannot ignore. It is inevitable to make websites like Zillow real estate easy to use. If not, the users will neither return to the platform nor suggest it to anyone.
- Reliable – Reliability is one of the important requirements in the digital world. When people don’t trust the listings on a platform, they will not use it again. Reviews and rating feature is the best way to make customers trust the platform.
- Buyer & Seller Interaction – This feature has been discussed earlier. We think that buyers will also definitely appreciate the smooth interaction with the sellers.
☛ Agents
- Work is Simplified – Top real estate sites like Zillow act as a connecting platform between all the parties. It makes the work of agents easier.
- Better Targeting – This feature was a benefit in the case of sellers too. For sure, agents will also love better targeting of potential clients.
- Analytics – Analytics tools in the Zillow app Android & iPhone will allow the agents to work better.
- Marketing Tools – The in-built marketing tools will help agents to better promote their services.
- Higher rate of success in deals – Zillow mobile app for Android/iPhone can surely help agents to close more deals as compared to just the offline methods.
We are quite sure that you are clear about the benefits, so we will move forward. The next part is about designing the app.
Design Elements to Build Real Estate App like Zillow
UI/UX is the first thing that will attract users to your app. If they don’t like it, they will start using your competitor’s app.
To make sure that doesn’t happen, remember the following things when you create a real estate app.
☛ Clear Images & Videos
Images and videos are the main part of the visuals in your app. Unclear images are of no help. On the other hand, clear images can help users decide to pay a visit to the property.
We think this reason is enough to use clear images and videos in your real estate app development project.
☛ Heatmaps
The Zillow heat map feature shows data like crime rates, population, etc. Experts suggest that using a heat map is better than a regular map. It may not contribute directly to user experience but it will make the app look great.
☛ Easy to Understand Menus
Purchasing/selling a property is already a complicated task in itself. On top of that when you use complicated terms, the user will think twice before using the app again. So, include easy-to-understand terms to make the users feel comfortable.
☛ Easy Navigation
Whatever Android app development services you choose, tell them to make the app easy to navigate. If users struggle to find what they are looking for, there are high chances of them uninstalling the app.
☛ 3D Walkthrough & Floor Plans
Yes, good images are necessary for a real estate app. But 3D walkthroughs and floor plans are value addition. When you build a real estate app like Zillow, try and include this feature. 3D walkthroughs and floor plans will help users to properly understand the structure of the house.
Necessary Features to Build Real Estate App like Zillow
The features of a real estate app will decide if users love it or not. The right features will make your app useful for the audience.
Here are some features to keep in mind:
☛ Login/Signup
It is a basic feature in any mobile app. The personal account of users will remember their preferences, search history, etc. You can give two options to sign up – mobile number or Email ID.
Also, the one-tap social media sign up feature will make the process easier.
☛ View/Edit Profile
Users can create their profiles but they will also need rights to view/edit the same. They will be able to edit details like preferences, search history, etc.
They will not be able to personalize their profiles. However, the app experience can improve with the feature.
☛ Filter & Search
All users will not have the same knowledge of the real estate industry. They will search on the app using different terms. So, it is crucial that the app has a strong search and filter feature.
This feature needs to be accurate so that your users can find what they are looking for in one go.
☛ Property Details
This is the feature for which the users are on your app. Users will want to know the details of a property before showing any interest in it.
Include the property details mentioned hereafter:
- How old is the property?
- What is the condition?
- What is the offering price of the property?
- Location
- Duration of owners stay at the property
- A short description of the history
☛ Reviews & Ratings
Any mobile app or website needs to earn the trust of its users to sustain itself in the market. The reviews & rating feature will help establish that.
Other users will get an idea about a property from the reviews and ratings that users leave on the app.
☛ Social Sharing
Today, almost every application has a social sharing feature. Social sharing will allow the sellers and agents to post about the property on social media too and reach a larger audience.
Cost to Build Real Estate App like Zillow
There are innumerable factors involved to build a real estate app like Zillow. It starts with something as basic as the platform of your app to the advanced features of the application.
Each factor has an impact on the total cost of development. But some of the important things that will influence the cost are the app platform, features, development team, project duration, location of the development team, and marketing of the app.
Conclusion
After deciding the app platform, you will hire a dedicated iPhone app developer or Android developer. Rest will follow after that. So, it is crucial to make careful decisions at every step of the development process.
Do you want to go digital with your real estate business? Then discuss what will work best with our mobile app experts! Reach out to us on [email protected] now!
